Posts by guest blogger

While the U.S. unemployment rate fell to a 32-month low of 8.6% in November, the average duration of joblessness hit an all-time high — 40.9 weeks. This number has more than doubled since the start of the Great Recession in December 2007. Nevertheless, it should come as no surprise amid lingering unemployment. There are four job seekers for every job opening these days.

The employment services industry provides a variety of human resources services, including most notably supplying temporary workers to other businesses. Because of the unique characteristics of this industry, economists often use its job market trends as an economic forecasting tool. The reason is simple: When the economy starts to slide, the first workers to go are usually the temporary employees, but when the economy begins to pick up, businesses will hire temporary workers first.

By Athena Ford, Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN)Originally published October 19, 2011 on the PHAN Blog

Thousands of activists with the Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN) sent emails, signed petitions, called and showed up in person to ask the Pennsylvania Insurance Department for a real, public investigation into Highmark's proposed rate hike on the Special Care plan. But this week the department approved the increase, without holding a hearing.

Special Care is a limited benefit plan offered by the state's Blue Cross/Blue Shield providers. It was touted as an alternative when the Corbett administration ended the adultBasic health insurance program in February.

The U.S. Department of Education recently released 2009 fiscal year data on the number of students defaulting on college loans. In a press release, the Department noted that the national default rate rose from 7% in 2008 to 8.8% in 2009, affecting loans for all types of colleges and universities. The default rate rose from 6% to 7.2% on loans for students at public institutions, 4% to 4.6% at private institutions, and 11.6% to 15% at for-profit institutions.

Among the states, Pennsylvania has the third highest number of higher learning institutions (behind California and New York) and a student default rate of only 6.6%, which is considerably better than the national rate. However, Pennsylvania is no exception when you compare the relationship between the unemployment rate and the borrower default rate.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate rose to 8.2% in August but remains below the 9.1% national rate. Pennsylvania has been below the U.S. unemployment rate for 40 consecutive months, and at or below the U.S. rate for 58 consecutive months. This trend is in jeopardy, however, as Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate has risen eight-tenths of one percentage point since May.

Nationally, the personal income of 20% of Americans comes from the government through programs like Social Security and unemployment benefits, according to a report in The New York Times. The percentage is even higher in the economically worst-off states – like Florida, Michigan, Ohio, and Arizona.

By Athena Ford, Pennsylvania Health Access Network (PHAN)Originally published July 1, 2011 on the PHAN Blog

Here’s something that won’t come as a surprise to you: Folks in Washington have some difficult decisions to make given the current fiscal and political climate. That, however, is not a free pass to gut Medicaid funding.

As Center for American Progress senior economist Heather Boushey put it, the national jobs report in June is “a litany of bad news, with nothing below the headline number that can provide optimism that enhanced job growth is right around the corner.”

If the May report on unemployment and payroll statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics was disappointing, June’s statistics are just as discouraging for the labor market.

The number of people unemployed (14.1 million), along with the unemployment rate (9.2%), remained essentially unchanged from May. The unemployment rates among the major worker groups — adult men, adult women, teenagers, whites, blacks, and Hispanics — showed little or no change.